Shaq Shoots a Big-Time Airball With His Draymond Green Suspension Take

During his time on the NBA hardwood, Shaquille O'Neal established himself as one of the best big men that basketball has ever seen. His off-court resume isn't too bad, either, with the living legend appearing in commercials, dabbling in music and film and sitting on the Inside the NBA panel.

In that latter role, Shaq usually provides some levity. Whether he's walking us through "Shaqtin' A Fool" or sparring with Charles Barkley, O'Neal helps make TNT's broadcasts different from the norm.

But just like on the basketball court, things aren't always a slam dunk. And we saw one of those misses on Tuesday night as O'Neal discussed Draymond Green's indefinite suspension. Not only did the Diesel bizarrely suggest that hitting opponents was OK, but he also talked about counseling in a less-than-ideal way.

Let's break things down.

Shaq Sounds Off on the Draymond Green Situation

For the most part, pro sports suspensions are rather cut and dry. A player crosses the line, and they're banned for X number of games. In Green's situation, though, things are a bit more fluid. The Warriors forward is currently facing an indefinite suspension and, according to The Athletic's Shams Charania, has entered counseling.

On Tuesday night, that topic reached the TNT panel. And O'Neal had some thoughts to share.

"I hate that y'all put that narrative on him," Shaq said. "The man don't need counseling... On the court, he don't need nothing. Off the court, he's a solid human being. He's a good man...Everybody has to have a certain character on the court. My character, Ernie, is I will elbow you 'til your g******, excuse me, 'til your damn teeth come out your mouth. I was mean on the court. But, off the court, I'm a different person. Listen, he does a lot of crazy things on the court that he shouldn't, but don't put the narrative on, 'Oh he needs counseling.' Nothing wrong with Draymond, I just wanted to say."

As you might expect, the rest of the TNT team pushed back. Ernie Johnson, for example, asked if O'Neal had a problem with Green's on-court behavior and suggested that repeated violations have to call for escalating punishments.

"Four or five years ago when he was doing that, y'all were saying, 'Oh, he's a great power forward. Kenny, he don't need the double. You know, he's undersized,'" O'Neal said. "He plays tough. He made a mistake right here, on this move [hitting Jusuf Nurkić] but, hey. All that stuff, he needs counseling, he needs to talk to people. There's nothing wrong with Draymond. There's nothing wrong with Draymond Green."

Charles Barkley then asked O'Neal about punching and choking people, and if that was part of the game.

"Listen, first of all, if those big guys ain't gonna do nothing back, they need counseling," Shaq replied. "Cause you gonna let me choke you? Are you gonna let me come in the game and choke you?...There's nothing wrong with him off the court. On the court, all the antics? Guess what? He's been doing that his whole career."

Continuing on the subject of condoning excess physicality, O'Neal said that Green was "sticking up for his teammates" when he choked Rudy Gobert and only made the mistake of "[extending] his arms" when he hit Nurkić. And, as the segment wrapped, Barkley simply said, "You can't choke people and punch them in the face. You can't do that."

Shaq, however, interjected to say, "Yes, you can."

O'Neal Whiffed in Two Different Ways

Without being inside Shaq's head, it's impossible to know exactly what he was thinking during the segment. (Newsweek has reached out to PRP, which lists O'Neal as a client, through its website requesting comment). But whether he was simply feeling defensive, genuinely believed what he said or anything in between, the legendary big man's take clanged off the metaphorical rim.

First, regarding Green's on-court behavior, you simply can't condone putting opponents in headlocks or hitting them in the face. Even if you want to believe that Green's latter action was accidental, making that sort of contact isn't allowed.

It's completely valid to make arguments about physicality. If someone like Shaq, who played ball during a rougher era, wants to claim that today's NBA needs to allow a bit more contact in the post, that's fair game. But Green's moves fall well outside the realm of basketball plays.

It would be unnecessarily broad to say that everyone wants to see a game where speed and skill dominate; some fans genuinely prefer a defensive struggle with plenty of physicality. It is probably fair, however, to say that no one affiliated with the NBA wants to see another situation like Rudy Tomjanovich getting punched ever again.

And while raising the specter of such a dramatic event may seem hyperbolic, that's a potential consequence of a living legend sitting on the league's premier studio show and saying it's OK to choke or punch people on the floor.

O'Neal was also hung up on the counseling part of the equation, continuously circling back to assert that Green wasn't a bad person and that he shouldn't be subject to the narrative that he needed help. Even if we ignore some logistical flaws to that argument— as Ernie Johnson suggested, this current punishment is due to a pattern of repetitive behavior—Shaq appears to suggest that there's something bad about working through an issue in that way.

Even if you want to assert that O'Neal has slipped into an on-air character, it's still less than ideal for an NBA great to be espousing those views on prime-time television. Players like Kevin Love and DeMar DeRozan have spoken openly about mental health, but Shaq trotted out the old stereotypes, suggesting that counseling is only necessary when you clear a specific bar.

Green doesn't need to be facing a major issue to seek help. Simply having a tough time, being unsure how to handle a situation or wanting assistance would be enough to talk to someone. At the risk of trotting out a cliché, pretend that Green was missing a week because he turned his ankle. Would we be saying that he didn't really need treatment since the bone wasn't broken? Or would we think that he was keeping himself in shape for the stretch run?

(Some parts of the sports space would probably pick the former, but that's an entirely different conversation.)

Ultimately, this is Shaquille O'Neal we're talking about. He's a living legend and part of some of the most famous teams in recent memory. He's a guy who occupies a privileged place in pop culture thanks to his ties to Kobe Bryant and someone who has a massive media profile.

Newsweek reached out to TNT via email and the NBA via its website to see if either party had a comment about O'Neal's statements and their potential implications.

At the end of the day, O'Neal, someone who works with law enforcement, loves Superman and has no problem putting himself in the spotlight, has to understand the weight of his words.

To mix superhero references, "With great power comes great responsibility."